you got the best of me
by The Old Circle Jerk
Summary: And he can't believe that somehow, somebody made him feel this way. Cat&Robbie


_you got the best of me_

And he can't believe that somehow, somebody made him feel this way. Cat&Robbie

**A/N: inspired heavily by the song **about a girl **by **the summer set.

* * *

><p><em>this ain't a show<em>  
><em>no, it's a song for a girl<em>  
><em>she's making my head spin<em>  
><em>making me slur my words<em>

- about a girl, the summer set

He's been to countless therapists and psychiatrists, one after one, that shook their heads at the end of the session, saying he was too messed up, that they couldn't help him.

Philophobia, they diagnosed.

The fear of love.

/

When he was 13, one counselor gave him Rex in a desperate attempt. "Rex is your friend," she soothed, "Rex loves you."

"_Rex_ is a fucking piece of cloth," Robbie responded angrily, but he found himself taking the puppet home anyway.

/

At age 14, Robbie met Cat on his first day at Hollywood Arts.

He went home with a funny feeling in his stomach.

/

Over the next 2 years, Robbie tried to figure out what that weird twinge in his stomach was whenever Cat laughed, why he felt the blood rise to his cheeks when she turned his way and batted her long eyelashes and asked him a question, why red quickly became his favourite colour.

It took him awhile, but eventually he got there.

/

It's 1:53 in the morning and Robbie's on the phone with Cat, laughing about a stupid ad on TV. The ad is for sunscreen, but it involves a bunch of sparkly teenagers saying what they _love _about their life.

"I _love _my SPF 30+ sunscreen." Robbie mimicks.

"I _love_ the way it makes me _feel_." Cat laughs.

"I _love _the way it laps gently on my skin."

"I _love _swimming, knowing I'm fully protected by my SPF 30+ sunscreen."

"I _love _being in _love _with my SPF 30+ sunscreen. In fact, screw that, I just _love _being in _love._"

"When do you know you're in love, then?" Cat giggles, twisting the phone cord around her finger.

"When you... when you lose your breath everytime she smiles, when you think she's beautiful because she's crazy and you wouldn't want her any other way. When you don't know why. You just do." Robbie answers instantly. There's silence on the end of the line, and Robbie freezes, realizing he's said too much, that he's taken everything way too far. He quickly slams the phone down, and collapses on his bed.

"Nice one, asshole," a snide voice comes from somewhere beside him.

"Not now, Rex," Robbie groans, burying his head into his pillow.

/

"Robbie? You have a visitor, honey!" Mrs. Shapiro was absolutely beside herself. Robbie never had company, except for that one time that Beck came over. What exactly went on in Robbie's bedroom remains unspoken, but it involved feathers. Lots and lots of feathers.

"Mom, I told you I don't need to see that 'teen therapist' anymore! My Ke$ha nightmare is well and truly gone, I swear!"

"It's _not _Dr. Monaco, Robbie, but you really should see her again. The _glitter-_"

"Mom!"

"Robbie?" The voice that responds to him is lighter, sweeter, more melodic. Innocent, even.

"_Cat?_"

The redhead enters his bedroom, uncertainly. "Hi?" She giggles, perching herself on Robbie's bed, blinking up at him through those long, dark lashes.

"Hi." Robbie responds moodily, turning away from her.

"What's wrong? Is it about last night?" Cat asks, concerned.

"Yes, it is about last night." Robbie snaps back, turning to face Cat again. She bites her lip nervously, glancing down at her hands.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a crush on Tori?" She asks sadly, looking back up.

"_Tori?" _Robbie nearly choked on his own spit.

"Yes, Tori," Cat laughs, slapping Robbie's knee in excitement. "You as good as admitted it last night on the phone!"

"I don't like _Tori._" Robbie mutters darkly.

Cat falls silent, high pitched shrieks falling away, lost in the midst of the summer day. "Then who do you like?" She asks innocently.

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes!"

"Promise you won't hate me?"

"Robbie, I could never hate you." Cat smiles.

So he leans.

/

Things just work between the two of them. They shouldn't. But they do.

/

Cat's the first one to say 'I love you.' They're sitting on the beach, trying to grasp the final fleeting days of summer in their hands before autumn takes over.

Robbie had gone to buy them ice cream, but had tripped over a rock on the way there. For some reason Cat found this absolutely hilarious, and started laughing until tears poured down her face. Robbie stumbled back over to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as she basically sobbed into his shirt. She emerged a few seconds later, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh Robbie," She sighed, satisfied, "I _love _you."

Robbie froze.

/

Rumours swirl around school about them. Cat just laughs and grabs Robbie's hand, her head held high.

"Doesn't it worry you?" Robbie asks her one day at lunch.

"What?" She blinks at him.

"The things people are saying about us. About you."

"No," She laughs, "Let them think what they want, I don't care. And you shouldn't either. You care too much about other people's perceptions of you, Robbie."

/

Cat's told him she loves him 3 times now, while Robbie has just smiled awkwardly in response.

He wants to say it back, he really does.

He just can't.

/

On the night of Hollywood Arts' second annual Prome, Robbie backs out, saying that he can't do it, he doesn't want to go. The truth is, he can't handle people telling them how _adorable _they are together, how in love they look. Because it hurts too much to see the beam on Cat's face when he knows he can't say it back, not yet.

Cat looks at the pretty dress she bought just for it, and then flashes her brilliant smile. "That's okay, Robbie. We can do something else tonight."

She can forgive him for anything, and it breaks his heart because he doesn't deserve her.

/

So that night, instead of dancing and laughing and having a good time with their friends, Robbie and Cat are snuggled on his couch, watching movies. Robbie's arm is curled around Cat, and her head is lying on his shoulder, eyelids fluttering shut as she slowly falls asleep.

Robbie just watches her sleep for a few minutes, mesmerized. He's amazed at how interesting he finds her, the fact that he can just watch her breathe in and out forever. And he can't believe that somehow, somebody made him feel this way.

He lowers his head, pressing a kiss onto Cat's forehead. "I love you," he whispers, finally. And it doesn't matter that she's asleep, and that she can't hear it for the first time. It truthfully just makes everything easier, because Robbie's never loved someone in his life, not his mother, not Rex, not Tori. Only Cat.

A little smile flickers on Cat's graceful face, and Robbie prays that somewhere in her subconcious she heard him, that she knows he loves her.

It would make everything alright again.

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><p><strong>haha, that ending is so corny and cliche. meh, I hope you enjoyed it anyway! please review :)<strong>


End file.
